Tintin in the Congo (1930)

Tintin in the Congo Review

Tintin in the Congo is the 2nd volume of The Adventures of Tintin comics series by Belgian cartoonist Herge. It was published in 1930 and it is the worst entry in the series.

Tintin and Snowy are sent to the Belgian Congo to report on events in the country. Amid various encounters with the native Congolese people and wild animals, Tintin unearths a criminal diamond smuggling operation run by the American gangster Al Capone. While the first volume was definitely not good, this one was even worse and it is the obvious pick for the worst Tintin book of all time.

I still give it a passable grade as I read it in historical context and there are some elements that worked here, in particular the villain. He was great and that entire storyline was solid and their fights were so much fun. Snowy once again got into some amusing scenarios.

But that’s pretty much it. The rest of the story is a totally dated, even insidious mess. The racism in this comic is horrendous. Not only are black people depicted in the most offensive manner possible (dumb and ignorant), but Tintin himself is a typical colonialist of the era and his intentions are atrocious.

But even worse is all the animal cruelty on display and this aspect needs to be talked about more. Tintin is truly an evil presence in this book as he gets to kill or wound numerous wild animals just for the sake of it. Big game hunting was depicted here in a positive, even comical light, but the mere sight of these dead animals made me nauseous. The illustrations are once again simplistic black-and-white drawings with no real artistry to be found anywhere while the episodic structure is lessened this time around, but still very much present.

At the end of the day, Tintin in the Congo should not be forbidden as it offers an important look into the racism and animal cruelty of this unforgiving era, but it truly is the worst entry in the series that features Tintin’s intentions and behavior that are at best problematic and at worst purely evil. It has its solid elements, but overall it’s a dated mess of a comic.

My Rating – 3